Be a Better Travel Agent: Get the Edge on Online Travel Sites

03-17-2016 / By: Amber Eden

Gone are the days when travellers automatically booked all their
travel through a travel agent. With a wide range of online, self-serve travel
booking sites available to consumers, it’s all too easy to click and book.

What most travellers don’t realize is that it’s not as easy to
unclick a purchase as it is to click it. And most don’t discover this hard fact
until it’s too late. Refunds and cancellation are, at best, a real headache
online. And because the purchase is made through a third party, customer
service is an afterthought.

This is where travel agents can make the difference between dreamy
and nightmare travel. Travel agents are knowledgeable about destinations, the
best ways to get there, and the best ways to avoid costly travel pitfalls. Here
are some tips for how you can keep your existing customer base and get more
clients through great customer service and unique positioning:

1. The Customer is King (or
Queen): This
time-honored adage is all but dismissed on online, as is the luxury of having a
real person’s guidance which has almost become a lost art. Every call-in
is a lead and a potential lifetime client. If you can provide great service and
information and make travel infinitely easier, chances are good that person
will call again and again, even if the first sale was meager. Treating every
customer (and potential customer) like gold will put gold in your pocket.

2. Know Your
Product: Take
advantage of travel junkets. Get out and visit your destinations and study the
market. Many people don’t have the time to research properties (and find out
too late that their water view is overlooking an oceanfront construction site.)
By averting possible travel disasters, you will earn the devotion of customers.

3. Share the
Love: Even
if you can’t get to a destination, network with other agents so that you can
support each other and provide a comprehensive collective knowledge base. Refer
clients to an agent who has actually visited the place, and chances are good
that agent will remember you when the opportunity comes to refer clients back.

4. Conduct
Travel Events: To expand your customer base, offer seminars on travel to
particular destinations and educate audiences on the benefits of using an
agent. Everyone loves special events, and they love even more to dream of
travel. Whether you offer an online event via a webinar or podcast, or an
evening get-together at your office (with good snacks and drinks!), you are
getting the opportunity to develop new clients. Even if you don’t get direct
business from event efforts, you are increasing the potential for referrals.
And word-of-mouth is the best advertising!

5. Get in
Good with a Business: Because business travel is often hectic and last-minute, depending
on the needs of the company, this can be a great niche for a travel agency to
add to their portfolio of clients. Make an appointment with the company’s
decision maker and present the pros of booking business travel through a
trusted source. Provide information that demonstrates how using an agency can
save money and time.

6. Choose
Best Marketing Practices: Along with social media and other online methods of marketing,
take the time to learn traditional marketing practices. Local business
organizations often provide learning opportunities for digital and traditional
marketing. By learning the best practices, you will be giving yourself an
advantage, not just over online sites, but competing travel agencies as well.

7. Practice
Abundant Thinking: Rather than focusing on the fact that the market share is
shrinking, shift your attention to opportunity. There is always a place
for a business that does the basics and builds great customer relationships.
Instead of worrying how much you are getting from a specific sale, focus
instead on providing the best service you can. It will pay off, guaranteed!

8. Offer
TSA-Compliant Travel Bags: Whether you provide travel kitsto special customers, sell them, or offer them as giveaways at
special events or contests, you are providing a value-added component to any
customer’s trip. The pre-packed travel bags from Convenience Kits
International are completely TSA-compliant, and will delight
your customers with national brand personal items stashed in a well-designed
kit for men, women, and children. No more worries about security gate snafus!